Duty to My Heart
by animeprincess11
Summary: Orihime was headed to marry the neighboring kingdom's prince. Along the way her escort was attacked. Now she has to live as a commoner in a small village till they can head to the royal city so she can marry her prince, thing is will she want to go? AU
1. Chapter 1

Orihime stumbled through the brush weakly trying to find help of any kind. Her already tattered dress caught on most of the low tree limbs. Her hair was a mess and full of twigs and leaves. She soon tripped over a rock that was covered by the foliage. She fell to her knees and caught herself with the palms of her hands. Orihime sat there panting and crying. This was too much for her to handle.

Orihime had been on her way to the neighboring kingdom to be wed to their prince. She had not met him nor had any recollection of what he looked like, his age, or personality. During her travel, her caravan had been attacked by ruthless bandits. They killed her entire guard right before her eyes. Orihime managed to escape thanks to her hand maiden who sacrificed herself. Orihime had begged her not to, but she paid no heed to her princess and gave her life.

Orihime laid there for what seemed like hours before she heard the sound of a cow. She lifted her head up and noticed a field not too far off. She pulled herself to her feet and limped towards the clearing. Upon arriving she looked around. There were quite a few crop fields, a herd of cattle, sheep, and horses. Also among the sights was a small village. Feeling her spirits lift some, she walked as fast as her leg would allow and passed through the field. She felt her energy drain from her almost as fast as it came, that by the time she emerged from the field she was on the verge of collapsing.

As she emerged there were several people sitting around a small fire in front of a building eating. They all noticed her and looked at her in confusion.

"Help me please…." Orihime managed to get out before she collapsed to the ground.

***

Orihime stirred from her slumber almost a day later. She slowly opened her eyes to find a girl no older than 12 sitting next to her bed side sewing. The girl put down her sewing as soon as Orihime opened her eyes.

"You are finally awake. Wait one moment I'll be right back." She stood up and ran out of the room yelling 'Papa!'

The girl returned shortly with a tall grizzly looking man in tow. He had a firm but gentle look to him. He came and sat in the chair next to her bed and took her chin in his hand gently. He looked at her eyes as though to confirm something. Once satisfied, he lifted up the covers from her legs, and that's when she noticed a bandage around her left leg. The man began to remove it as the girl went to a counter and retrieved a bowl of water with a rag.

The man began to clean the cut on her leg and re bandaged it. Once he was satisfied with his work, he leaned back in the chair and began asking her questions.

"How are you feeling?"

"A bit tired and some pain." She managed to get out seeing as her throat was parched.

The man noticed his is turned to the girl. "Yuzu please go fetch some water." With a quick 'Yes Papa.', the girl was off. Turning back to Orihime he could read a question that was plain on her face. "My name is Kurosaki Isshin; I am the Leader of this town along with the doctor. You collapsed right outside this building yesterday. Now may I know who you are?"

"I am Inoue Orihime."

"Well now, this is quite a surprise." He leaned forward. "What is someone of your status doing out here, none the less in your condition."

"My caravan was attacked by bandits. As far as I know, they killed everyone. I managed to just barely escape." She whispered mournfully. "I ran for as long as I could till I stumbled upon your village."

As she finished speaking, Yuzu appeared again with a jug of water. Isshin took the jug from her and poured some into a cup for Orihime. He slid his arm under her shoulders and lifted her up while holding the cup up to her mouth. She flushed a little at the contact but drank the water greedily. Once she was done, he pulled the cup away and sat her into a sitting position.

"This is my youngest daughter Yuzu. She will be taking care of you."

"Don't hesitate to ask for anything." She smiled happily.

"Thank you." She smiled lightly.

"Oi, Yuzu." A male voice called from outside the house. "Are you bringing back that jug anytime soon?"

As he finished speaking, a young male around Orihime's age entered the room in nothing but a pair of pants. Orihime could feel the blush appearing on her cheeks at the appearance of the teen. His skin reflected slightly with sweat and a small amount of dirt on toned body. He noticed her sitting there starring at him.

"I see she woke up, who is our mystery woman?" He asked as he walked over. He was surprised how beautiful she was compared to the condition she was in when she first arrived.

"This is my oldest son Ichigo." Isshin introduced before standing up and pushing him out the door again. He guided him several feet away before stopping and speaking to him. "Ichigo, we have to be really careful about this situation. She is Inoue Orihime, the princess Inoue Orihime." He firmly said. "We can't let any of the villagers know who she is seeing as the hostility most have around here for royal families. Her caravan was attacked by such people."

"So what are we going to do? We can't just walk up to the prince and say 'here she belongs to you.' That would mean death for the entire village."

"We make a trip to the royal city here in a few weeks, we will take her with us and she can go up to the castle herself and he will have no idea who was involved. I will have a talk with her about what is going to happen. In the mean time, I want you to keep an eye on her when she is out of the house." Isshin folded his arms across his chest.

"Alright, but remember we can't be coming to her every beck and call." Ichigo stated.

Isshin nodded and lead the way back to the house. Once inside he threw a shirt at his son before heading over to sit next to Orihime who was eating something Yuzu had prepared.

"Orihime, you will have to forgive the informality, but it needs to be done because quite a few of the villagers don't care for royal families. You see our Prince, Aizen, is none to kindly to his subjects and that has created hostility. We have to handle the situation delicately, I know it's asking a lot, but for the next few weeks till we head to the royal city, you'll have to pose as a commoner."

Orihime looked at him with a very confused face. "So anywhere I go in this kingdom, unless it is in the palace my life is in danger?"

"Pretty much." Ichigo stated leaning against a wooden pillar.

"What exactly do I have to do, to act like a commoner that is." She looked down at her hands.

"We won't require too much of you, just cooking, bringing water around to the workers in the field and caring for the children." Isshin stated. "That is once your leg is healed. While you are down, you can just tend to sewing."

Orihime sat there staring at the bed sheets contemplating her situation. She didn't really have a choice unless she wanted to venture out on her own to find the royal city. That option didn't seem really appealing at all to her. She looked up at Isshin and nodded her head. "I'll do it."

"Alright then, you'll be staying with us. We will move you into the actual living part of the house." Isshin instructed. "Yuzu will show you all that you need to know."

Orihime nodded and squeeked when she felt someone lifting her up. She looked up and saw Ichigo picking her up.

"Wai-what are you doing?" She exclaimed.

"Moving you to your room; unless you want to stay in the hospital part of the house."

Orihime blushed and put her head down as to hide her face. 'He's very strong….maybe it's because he works so hard.' She was brought out of her thought when Ichigo set her down on a different bed.

"T-thank you." She whispered, still not looking at him. She noticed something out of the corner of her eye and looked over to notice that he had squatted down next to her bed to look at her.

"I know it's going to be rough trying to fit in around here, but if you have any troubles just say something to Dad or me, we'll get it fixed." He looked in her eyes as he stated this.

Orihime nodded, her blush getting darker. Ichigo gave her a grin and patted her on the head as he stood up and left. She watched him leave and then looked around the room, she defiantly had a lot to get used to.


	2. Chapter 2

Days past and Orihime quickly learned to sew and hem clothing. Once she was able to stand up and move around with ease, Yuzu taught her how to cook basic foods. During the days, she would play with the children and take water to the men working in the fields. She would get a few cat calls from the younger men, but they were straightened out with one look from Ichigo. She often found herself staring at him while he worked till shaken out of it by a few of the other women.

Many of the townsfolk had kept their distance from her once she was able to come out from the house. Others, couldn't wait to meet the stranger. She had thought of a story of how she was captured by ruffians and was to be sold to a brothel in the royal city, but escaped while they were sleeping. Everyone seemed to buy it.

"Orihime-chan!" A group of children ran up to her. "Come play with us." They squealed pulling on her arms towards the school house.

"Alright, let's go." She smiled and let the children drag her.

Ichigo had been heading out of the fields to get some water when he noticed Orihime with the kids. He noticed how she let them have the advantage in the game than letting herself win and thought that she would be a good mother when the time came.

"She's adapting well." Ichigo turned when he felt a hand rest on his shoulder and turned to see Isshin there. "It will be a shame when she has to go back."

Ichigo stood quietly as his father talked. '...when she has to go back.' That phrase repeated in his head. He had to keep that in his head so as not to get attached, but he felt that was already a lost cause. The moment he carried her into the house after she first collapsed he could feel a tug at his heart. The need to protect her from what had caused her to end up like this in the first place. Then the way her face blushed whenever she saw him the first time and when he picked her up.

"Ichigo."

"What?" He quickly turned his attention to his father.

"Son, it can't happen." Isshin stated. "There are just too many technicalities."

"Don't know what you are talking about." Ichigo shrugged Isshin's hand off and walked over to the well and grabbed a drink before heading back out to the fields.

Isshin watched Ichigo and shook his head, his son wasn't that naïve. They both knew what was happening and they both knew that it couldn't happen; well one of them thought it couldn't happen.

***

Orihime took a deep breath as she walked out into the cool summer air. She was enjoying the freedom she had here, it was the one thing she wanted the most in her entire life. The freedom to walk outside without being dressed up or have escorts or maids or anything, just herself. She noticed a light on in the barn not too far off and decided to go investigate.

As she approached it was quite so she began to think that someone just left the lamp lit. Orihime went ahead and walked into the barn before she clasped her hands over her mouth to muffle a scream. Sitting there in a pool of blood was the exact person who helped her escape from the bandits. She quickly ran over to the girl.

"Tatsuki, are you alright?" She cried, "Oh god Tatsuki I'm so sorry." She cried.

"Orihime-hime….i'm so glad you are safe…" Tatsuki smiled weakly.

"I'll be right back I'll go get help." Orihime stood up and ran back to the house.

"Isshin!" She cried out as she ran in the house. Both Isshin and Ichigo ran in to the room at her yelling.

"Orihime what is wrong? Are you alright?" Isshin quickly approached her noticing that her dress was covered in blood.

"I'm fine, but please in the barn my hand maiden is bleeding a lot." She explained tears running down her face.

"Yuzu! Karin! Bring me my kit and hot water to the barn." Isshin yelled before running out to the barn with Orihime and Ichigo close behind.

Upon arriving Orihime pushed past the two men and ran to Tatsuki's side. "It's alright, Isshin is a doctor he can help you." She looked up at Isshin as she stated this.

"Orihime, I need you-"

"Don't speak to her like that!" Tatsuki managed to scold.

"Don't worry about that Tatsuki." Orihime shot right back. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to remove her clothes and cover her properly please."

Orihime nodded and started once Ichigo and Isshin turned around. Yuzu and Karin helped her once they had arrived with the water and kit. Once they were done, you could see several gashes that were stark red and obviously infected. Once Yuzu stated that she was ready, Isshin turned and looked her over before telling the two younger girls to go get some herbs from the house.

Isshin took several pieces of cloth and dipped it in the water before handing one to Orihime and Ichigo. "Clean any blood from the wounds that you find." He stated to them before looking at Tatsuki, "This will hurt quite a bit so please try your best to hold still."

He didn't give her the chance to respond before he put the towel on a gash on her arm. She cried out and thrashed around. Ichigo managed to pin her legs down before he could be kicked, but Orihime was not as quick and ended up being hit in the face.

"Orihime," Ichigo stated. "Go get Chad and Uryuu."

Orihime nodded still a little dazed, that was the first time she had ever been hit. She got up quickly and ran to Uryuu's house first since it was the closest. She quickly knocked on the door just to have to open as quickly as she had knocked.

"Ishida-kun, please help, Kurosaki-kun and Isshin need your help in the barn." She stated quickly.

Looking at her condition he nodded and ran down the barn as she turned and ran to Chad's house. Orihime told him the same thing before he nodded as well and they both headed down to the barn. Chad was faster than her so he got there before she could. Upon arriving she saw Tatsuki being held down by the 3 teens and Isshin cleaning her wounds.

Orihime hurried over to her and sat above her head and held it still while whispering comforting words to Tatsuki. She would wipe away the tears that flowed from the other girls eye's as she went through the pain.

It seemed like they were there half the night before Isshin had her all cleaned up and medication put on her wounds before he wrapped them up in bandages. Tatsuki had passed out from the pain just as they finished, but Orihime had still tried to comfort the girl. Once she was bandaged and dressed in clean clothes, Chad picked up the girl and followed Isshin to the house where she would rest till she was healed.

Orihime stayed in the barn staring out the window as Ichigo and Uryuu cleaned up all the blood soaked hay and put it out back where they would burn it in the morning. Once Ichigo had thanked Uryuu he returned to the barn to find Orihime in the same spot he left her. He walked over and sat down next her.

"You okay?"

"For the most part." She answered, still staring out the window.

"Tatsuki will be alright." He stated. When he received no response from her, he leaned back in the hay. "You know, Tatsuki came from this village."

Orihime looked over at him confused. "She always told me she had been abandoned by her parents."

"That does have some truth to it. She was born and raised here; she was one of my best friends growing up. One day when we were still little, there was a raid on the village." His face started to look very serious, "They tried to take all the women with them. Tatsuki and I had been out playing by the river without permission and when we came back, Tatsuki's parents weren't in the house, but the bandits were. She was taken then by them. When I returned to my house, some of the bandits tried to attack me, but my mother jumped in the way and took the hit. That day I lost my best friend and my mother. Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if we hadn't snuck off to the river. Would my mom still be alive? Would Tatsuki still be here?"

Orihime stared at him for a long moment as he stared out the barn window as he spoke about his past and his what if questions about it. She then turned a looked out the window as well as the moon shined through.

"My parents died when I was really little. I don't remember them at all. I grew up under my brother's supervision. He was murdered several months ago. He never married or had kids and the only way for me to become the ruler I had to marry." She spoke quietly. "The royal council arranged for me to marry Aizen Souske. I had never heard of him before, but according to them, he was a good match. Now after all that I've heard about him, I don't think I want to marry him."

"He's just spoiled rotten and takes it out on the people of the kingdom when he doesn't get what he wants." Ichigo scoffed. "If Yamamoto were still alive he would have set him straight long ago."

"Who is that?"

"The former king. He died before I was born and Aizen was the next in line for the throne. Dad tells me that he used to put him in his place a lot." Ichigo then stood up and held his hand out to Orihime. "Come on, let's get inside. We've got a long day tomorrow."

Orihime looked up at him and gently took his hand and he swiftly pulled her up. She hadn't quite caught her footing when let go of her hand and she fell into his chest. Ichigo caught her shoulders and steadied her. Orihime looked down blushing and whispered a thank you before the two left for the house.

****

So sorry it took so long to get this out. I work 55 hours a week and take care of 2 kids so it's a bit of a challenge to get to write. I guess I should have mentioned this in the last chapter but there will be some occ-ness from the characters. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think!


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